Japanese Grilled Chicken Tenders With Ume And Shiso Recipes

JAPANESE GRILLED CHICKEN TENDERS WITH UME AND SHISO

Steps:

• Soak four bamboo skewers in water for at least 1 hour. Remove the white, stringlike tendon from each chicken breast fillet. Make a long cut on one side of each fillet. Run a knife deeper into the fillet, from the top to the bottom, to make a long pocket. Do not cut through to the other side of the fillet.
• In a small cup, mix the pickled plum, sake, and mirin. Apply this paste in a thin layer to one side of the inside pocket of each fillet. Scatter shiso on top of the paste. Close the open edge of each breast fillet with a bamboo skewer.
• Heat a grill or broiler. Salt the outside of the fillets liberally on both sides, and cook the chicken on the grill or in the broiler, turning the skewers several times, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Serve the chicken hot.

YARDBIRD'S YUZU MISO-MARINATED CHICKEN TENDER YAKITORI

Steps:

• Prepare the marinade by placing the barley miso, mirin, sake, yuzu skin, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and soy sauce in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Reserve in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Carefully remove the small tendon from the underside of each chicken fillet by running the tip of the knife blade just under the visible part of the tendon. Place the fillet on the cutting board. Pinching the end, run the knife along the tendon in a downward motion until removed. Repeat on the remaining fillets. Place in a shallow baking dish, and cover with the marinade, tossing to coat completely. Marinate for 1-2 hours.
• Starting at the wider end, cut each chicken fillet into three pieces to make a total of six pieces. Move one of the larger end pieces to the side of the smaller pieces. Starting with the smaller pieces at the bottom of the skewer, pinch the meat so the rounded, smooth side faces up. Insert the skewer directly through the middle of the meat. Continue skewering the rest of the fillet pieces, working up in size, keeping the smooth side of the meat facing up. Repeat until you have five identical skewers, each weigh about 1½ ounces each.
• Start with the smooth side down over high heat, grilling until light brown, 1-2 minutes. Rotate ¼ turn, cook on each side until lightly colored, about 1 minute per side. Once three sides are colored, finish cooking on the last side until light brown, 1-2 minutes. Spray with sake and lightly season with salt to finish. Garnish with yuzu zest and a squeeze of fresh yuzu juice.